Cartridge-explosive



nE. s. MCKINLAY. CARTRIDGE ExPLoslvE. APPLICATION FILED 1AN.1s, 1917. RENEWED ocT. 23, i920. 1,379,637.

Patented May 31, 1921.

MOKINLAY, F DENVER. COLORADO.

GRTBIDGE-EXPLO'SIVE.

PatentediMay 3i, i921.

Application filed January 16, 1917, Serial No. 142,705. Renewed October 23, 1920. Serial No. 419,078.

To all wlwmit may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD S. MoliNmY, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residin at Denver, in the county of Denver and tate of Coloradofhave invented certain new and useful improvements in Cartridge-Ex lo-w the following is a speci casives, of which to the action, reference being had therein companying drawing.

This invention relates to improvements in cartridge-like devices, that is to say, devices which comprise kreceptacles adapted to contain explosive materials and retain the same until said materials are ignited and cause to evolve the gas which eii'ects the bursting of the rceptacle.

reagents to come into contact, and optionally controlled ,means which, at a later instant, can cause the gas so generated to be ex loded.

igui'e 1 is aE lbngitudinal section through a bod of coal or rock wherein has been place a set of devices embodyingmy 1mp provements; i

v Fig. 2 is a section of the cartridge complete;

Fig. 3 is a cross section taken on the line 3, 3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. i is va side view; Fig. is a section of the liquid-car ing plu taken on the line 5, 5 of Fig. 2; an

igs. 6, 7 and 8 show modined forms of carrier or package for the carbid.

' Fig. 9 is a cross section of the carbid holder.

Fig. is a dia ram of an arrangement of circuits and switc es for the control devices. Fi 11 is a diagram of an arrangement ot circuits supported on, or adjacent to the cartridge.

I will describe, somewhat specically, features of construction and the mode of use of an explosion apparatus which is adapted for use in mining coal; that is to say, for use in breaking` down coal masses after they have been4 undermined and after apertures for .the reception of the exploding .article have been drilled. But it will be understood that in giving such specic description and illustration, I am aiming to have my invention fully understood without intending to'be limited to the speciiic matters presented. l In the drawings, 1AY indicates the roomY in a coal mine, 2 the roof or superadjacent rock, 3 the bottom or floor, and e the coal still standin in its native bed. a

In or inary procedure, the coal bed is un dermined; that is to say, a -kerf 5 is formed generally by a mining machine, this kerf extending from five to seven feet under the coal and being from three to six inches in depth, vertically; The face indicated at the line 6 can be re arded as that of a room, such as is formed andextended in roomand-pillar mining and further regarded as about twenty-ve feet wide, horizontally.

The coal having been undermined as illustrated, the operatives next Jform shot holes; that is tosay, with long angers they .drill holes 7 approximately parallel to the bottom of the coal. These drillings extend inward to varying depths, according to the requirements of the particular coal formation. Sometimes they incline to the right or to the'left, horizontally; sometimes they inclne more or less to the vertical. The drill hole illustrated can be regarded as approximately two inches in diameter.

y The practice has been to insert in the inner ends of these drill holes charges of powder or cartrid es containing powder or dynamite or equivalent explosive. For many reasons, the agencies that have been heretofore used for this pu very objectionable. nd, as above stated, the purpose of this invention is to provide a cartrid e which will be in many respects prefere le, as will be understood from this description.

8 indicatesa tube. it may be formed of a paper composition and will at rst he described as if so made. For it are provided two closures 9 andlO, asshown. These are corks suitably cut to tightly fill the ends ot the paper tube. The closure 9 is solid and is adapted to be inserted `into the end of the tube 8 in such way as to have the joint practically gas and liquid-tight. The closure l@ is also adapted to have its outer surface fit perfectly tightly in the end of the tube 8. lit is, however, hollow or formed with a chainber 11. This chamber is provided with a charge of water, as shown at 12. The inner wall 18 of the closure is continuous except that at 14 there is a small passage left which ose have been found is closed by a stopper 15. The latter-is made o wax, paraffin, or equivalent material. "l" 51. in place, it seals the water chamber with a gas and li uid-tight joint. v But it isv susceptible of me ting, and upon a slight waterlis Vallowed to permeable by water; in Figs. 6 and 7 it is shown at 16n as a paper wrapper or holder which infolds a layer'of the carbid in such switch 21.

way that it will be firmly held in position but can 'permit the access of water. In Fig. 8 the carbid is held in a ,small fibrous sack 16h.

At 17 there is an electrical resistance Wire,

preferably a coil of German silver wire, so

plus.

placed as to have the closure or water 15 within the zone of the .heat which it can generate. .To the terminals of they resistance element are secured wires 18 and 19 which extend out from the tube and are carried to a current-closing and supplying device at 20 having a circuit closer or At 22, 22 are the terminals of-a sparking device. To these-are connected the supply wires, '23, 24, the latter extendin also toward the supply and controlling evices at 20, these, as an entirety, including a sparkcoil at 25. -moal mines today are almost universally equi ped with current-transmitting wires for t e purposes of operatingmotoisv on lo- Vform the complete cartridge 'can comotive's, minin machines, drills, or the like; and to obtain current for the -'mechanism at 20 it is merely necessary to connect detachable terminals 26, 27, to conductor mains, such as those at 28, 29..

The assembling of the several arts to e done either at the time it is to be used Afor an explosion or it can be done at earlier times, and they can be kept in stock ready for use. In assenriblino them, one of the tubes 8 is Vtaken, vand aer the plug 9 is tightly inserted at one end, the carrier or holder 16` is introduced `into the tube in whichit lies l loosel Then one of the chamberedlugs 10 is inserted at the oppesite end, the c amber being preiiminarily filled .with water, and the water passage at 14 being tightly closed with a fusible plug 15.

When using it for causing an lexplosion for the purposebove mentioned, the cartrid e is introduced into the inner` end of the Llr-ole 7, thewires 18, 19, or the cable carrying'them, being carefully arranged in the front portion of the drill hole.Y

Then tampering or packing material V3O.,is

inserted and rammed, or otherwise packed, suitably tight.

The circuit. closer at 21 is closed and the for the specific purpose imacat current is allowed to pass through the heating device at 17. The first intended effect of the heat so generated is to melt out the fusible plug at 15 which is followed by the flowing of the water out from the cavity in the plug 10 into .the main chamber.. The yvaterimmediately contacts with the-carbid in the holder 16 and the generation of acetylene gas commences; It proceeds rapidly and a large volume of as is soon produced. It may result in t e bursting of the walls of the paper tube, but in the work being describedV this is immaterial, as the. gas 1s confined inside of the tamping at 30. After a lapse of suiiicent time for the generation o f all the gas, the operator closes the spark .c1rcuit. Thereupon, the gas is ignited and exploded with great energy.

If the reagents employed are such aste produce a. gas of the character' indicated the operation must be effectedl under circumstances where suliicientoxygen will be provided. The chamberin the main ltube 8 can be formed to vcarry a Vvolume of air; and thevolume of water `can be such as upon decomposition to provide a volume ed to illustrate the-fact that-two wires', such as 18 and 19 are to be so arranged, and to be connected with terminal circuits in such way that a direct current can. be transmitted over them for heating purposes, and an alternating current for l, sparkin purposes. The switch at 21 can be thrown rst, to such position as ,to4 permit lthe current from the supply mains to pass tothe heatin vcoil, at which time the spark circuit will e cut out, then thrown to such position'that the current from the mains 4will pass through the rimary circuit of the sparking devices whi e the induced current from the secondary coil will pass to the spark point at 22. It will be understood that in all these respects, modifications can -be made, as desired.

Having thus called attention, somewhat in detail, to the application of my invention above referred to, the following matters are to be noted. In place of the paper tube 8, a metallic pipe can beemployed which is preferable where the mines are gaseous. The water can be retained -in any of severall ways instead of confining it in the `chamber 11. Aqvirin can be substituted by which both thefheating and the sparking can be attained by a single circuit. l

Nor do I limit my invention to cartrid es which are used for the purposes of breaking down" coal or rock. Similar explosive agencies can be constructed for ordnance implements, in the manufacture of bombs, and the like. v

What I claim is:

1. The herein-described explosive cartrid e comprising a main retainer, means for olding within the main retainer two reagents separated from each other but adapted to ra idly produce large volumes of highly exp osive gas, means for' causin the two reagents to come into Contact, an optionally controllable devices within the main retainer :for causingthe explosion of the gas after it has been evolved therein and acting independently of the last said means, substantially as set forth.

2. The herein-described cartridge com-` prising a main retainer closed at one end, a

removable closure at the oplposite end, the

retainer being adapted to ho d in the chamber therein a gas-evolving reagent and one of the closures being adalpted to contain a companion reagent norma y separated from the aforesaid reagent, controllable means for causing the rea ents to come into contact, and optiona controllable means for i iting the pro nets of reaction after they ave been formed.

3. The herein-described ex losion cartridge comprising a tube wit both ends normally open, a removable Aclosure for each end of the tube, one of said closures having a water chamber with an orice adapted to be closed by a fusible closure, the main tube having a chamber containing a material reacting with water to produce volumes of explosive gas, means for causing the fusion of said fusible closure, and means acting independently of the means last aforesaid. for causing the explosion of the gas generated in the tube.

4. The herein-described inclosed explosive receptacle containing two reagents adapted on contacting with each other to produce volumes of explosive gas within the receptacle, by their reaction, means normally separating the said reagents from each other, optionally controlled means forcausing the said rea pents to contact with each other and pro uce volumes of explosive gas, and optionally controlled means act' independently of the means last aforesaid or causing the ex losion of said gas after it has been forme in the said receptacle.

In testimony whereof, I aliix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

EDWARD S. MOKINLAY. 

